The iPad mini has gone onsale in China today, and AppleInsider reports that thanks to preventative measures taken to avoid any crowd disturbances such as occurred at previous launches, it was a relatively quiet affair. The crowds were kept away by the fact that only those who had reserved an iPad mini would be able to receive one on the day, so there was no point in anyone else lining up on the off chance of getting one. It seems that the scalpers were out in force though, even if the casual customers stayed away, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal reporter said that despite such precautions now being in place, there were still lots of scalpers in attendance, and they even harassed the Wall Street Journal reporter when he tried to film them, telling him that he was invading their privacy, before then proceeding to â€œkick, swat and push himâ€ when he told them that they were in a public place. Although the majority of the scalpers had not pre-ordered their iPad mini, they were still able to obtain some by waiting at the Apple Storeâ€™ s entrance and offering customers cash for their iPad minis as they left the store. [/FONT]

A tablet is a status symbol? Wow, a tad different culture and economy over there, huh?

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There's a rising middle class in China, as well as many wealthy people. But every country has such displays of income gaps. In the U.S. for example, some people riot and shoot each other over sneakers, especially with limited-edition Nikes. Scalping happens with sneakers and iDevices in the U.S., too. I'm surprised you haven't read about such.

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